Charleston County to offer African American studies course for 2024-2025 school year

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)—Charleston County students can take an honors African American Studies course this school year after the South Carolina Department of Education decided to drop the AP course from its offered curriculum.

The honors course offered through the Charleston County School District was approved at a Thursday night board meeting.

The class will teach students about the early African kingdoms all the way to current Black communities in the United States.

Students will not receive a college credit for the class like they did before the state education department pulled it; instead, they will receive elective credit.

The Advanced Placement (AP) class previously offered by the agency was created by the College Board, a nonprofit that creates AP classes that are taught throughout the country.

State superintendent Ellen Weaver cited controversy as a reason to drop the class, while an education transparency bill cited a funding deficit as a reason to drop it.